


What the Water Gave Me

by empty_cup_and_a_chipped_heart



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, I don't know, and a smidgen of angst, castaway!Gold, mermaid!Belle, perhaps possibly yes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 23:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5474126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empty_cup_and_a_chipped_heart/pseuds/empty_cup_and_a_chipped_heart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mermaid!Belle saves Raymond Gold from his wife's capsizing ship</p>
            </blockquote>





	What the Water Gave Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tinuviel_Undomiel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinuviel_Undomiel/gifts).



“Oh my love don’t forsake me, take what the water gave me.”  
\-- Florence and the Machine, What the Water Gave me

***  
Raymond Gold woke up to a pounding headache, and incredibly dry mouth, and a pair of ocean blue eyes staring at him.

“Oh thank the gods, you’re awake!” a bodiless voice exclaimed.

He struggled to sit up, the sand he was laying on providing no traction. A pair of hands, which he assumed belonged to both the eyes and the voice, helped him into a sitting position against one of the scraggly rocks. Once situated, he leaned against it heavily, for that small bit of movement exhausted him.The hands then tilted a bottle against his lips and he drank as quickly as he could. They removed the water all too quickly, and, when he moaned in protest, he felt them stroking his hair, lulling him back to sleep.  
***  
The next time Rum woke up, the set of pretty blue eyes was gone, and he felt surprisingly despondent. They had held a sort of soft kindness he hadn’t received often in his life. He marked them up to some sort of dehydration-induced hallucination. Who would ever look at him like that?

He began to take his current state into account. He was still mostly clothed, which was wonderful, but where was the rest of his party? What had happened? He looked down, his unbuttoned shirt falling open to reveal his bare chest with some seaweed stuck to his skin. He started to pick at the edges, trying to remove it, but it stuck fast.

“What are you doing? That’s supposed to help you heal!” 

His head shot up, startled. A woman with chestnut curls and very familiar blue eyes looked up at him from the water. She looked perfectly normal-- beautiful even-- except--

“What are you?” he blurted, his head was still reeling from all that had happened. What had happened?

“A mermaid.” she looked a bit put out. “And you’re a human.” She explained as if she were talking to a very small child.

“Yes, I know that. But mermaids aren’t real.” He responded with a scowl, he had to be hallucinating now. 

“Yes they are. I would know because I am one. Obviously.” Her tail, which flashed between blue and gold, rose out of the water with an irritated twist to it; much like a cat’s when irritated. 

Rum stared at her, still not quite believing what was in front of his eyes. She did seem real, but his sun stroked, dehydrated, concussed brain could create anything to keep him happy while he was dying.

“What’s your name?” he asked as a peace offering. He’d never been one for apologizing and he certainly wasn’t going to start with an illusion his fever mind created on the brink of his death.

“It’s Belle.” She said with a smile. It was radiant and made him feel a bit gooey inside. He gave himself a mental shake. He was acting absolutely ridiculous. “What’s yours?”

“I’m Raymond Gold. You can call me Rum.” Cora hadn’t learned his nickname until they’d been together for four months. 

“Rum.” She said, have to herself. “I like it.” Her smile widened and he felt part of his resolve crumble.

She pushed herself out of the water and crawled up next to him on dry land.

Oh God, she isn’t wearing anything. He explicitly avoided looking at her chest while she checked the plaster on his, and instead focused on her tail. It was gorgeous, a few shades darker than her eyes and each individual scale was outlined in gold. He wanted desperately to reach out and stroke it.

A soft glowing from his chest distracted him, and he looked down in shock. Belle had a hand against his chest and her forehead pressed a bit above it. The glowing lasted a few seconds and then stopped. Belle removed her hand and forehead, looking a bit sheepish.

 

“What was that?” he asked, clearing his throat. It was dry because he hadn’t had water in a while. Yes, that was it.

“Oh.. Umm.. Magic. Just a tiny bit to help heal you, I’m not very good at it... “ She trailed off and looked down at her clasped hands.

“Well,” he swallowed again, he needed water, “humans don’t have magic and I think it was wonderful.” 

She smiled again, lighting up her whole face, and then left with a promise of water and food.

Rum was beginning to hope she wasn’t hallucination.

***  
Belle was fascinated by Rum, having never met a human face-to-face before. Her father had warned her to stay away from them, but she never had been very good at listening.  
Rum was eating his usual meal of seafood and fresh water-- which she brought him every day-- while she began her query of the day. She’d been collecting human bauble and things almost her entire life and now she could finally ask about them.  
“  
And what’s this?” she asked, holding up the final item.

“That’s a bucket. You can make a sandcastle with it.”

“A sandcastle?” she asked as she pulled herself onto shore. Rum had been showing her how to use all the different items she found and she was finding it quite fun. 

“Yes. I think you’ll like it.” He said with a small smile that was turning out to be her favorite.

She watched as he gathered the damp sand into the bucket, and then carefully placed the sand-- sans bucket-- on the ground. The first tower was done. 

“If you’d like, you can grab some decorations.” he said, a bit bashfully. 

“Like what?” she asked, totally fascinated. with what he was doing. 

“Ummm… Shells, twigs, seaweed, and the like.”

“Oh, I know a perfect place to grab shells. I’ll be right back.”

Belle came back with an entire collection of shells, and poured them out at Rum’s feet. 

“I couldn’t decide which, so I just brought them all.” She gave him a sheepish smile. 

They worked in silence, Belle decorating the towers as soon as Rum built them.

“I used to do this with my son. When he was little.” 

Belle glanced at him. “You have a son? He wasn’t with you on the ship was he?” She could feel the rising panic, that by saving Rum she had forever separated him and his son.

“No, he’s with his mother in California. Just my fiancée-- ex-fiancée. We broke it off a few days before the ship sunk. It’s quite awkward to be stuck on the same hundred square feet together. And I’m nearly positive she made it off the boat before it capsized. Cora’s probably suing someone for it this very moment.”

Belle squashed down the rising jealousy. It wasn’t seemly to be this attached to a man she’d known for a little over a week. It’s just that, he understood her and humored her and never got mad because she was asking too many questions. 

“What’s your son like?” she asked instead, not giving into the burning desire to question him about his ex-fiancée. 

Rum spent the rest of the time regaling her with tales from Bae’s childhood, telling her all of the best and worst moments. She laughed and sighed along with him, and when she caught the look of longing and desperation on his face Belle had a deep sense of resolve.

She would get Raymond Gold back to his son.  
***  
Rum spent most of his morning creating his gift to Belle. She’d done so much to help him over the last few weeks he’d wanted to give her something back.  
He was stringing antique beads she had given him and shells on a piece of fishing line. It wasn’t the best looking necklace he’d ever seen, of course he was probably jaded from all his time he spent working with antiques. He’d grown fond of her over the last few days, appreciating every kind smile and gentle touch. Cora’d been affectionate, but only when she had to be. Outside of the bedroom and public eye, she was cold. But Belle, Belle had ready smiles and gentle touches, and his poor, self-loathing soul loved every moment of it.

Belle sprung up out of the water as soon as he strung the last bead on. She was holding a box in her arms and wore an expression of pure excitement.

“Belle, close your eyes and turn around.” 

Her smile grew even bigger, “Why?” she asked but did as she was told.

“I have a surprise.” Rum brushed her hair to the side, marveling a bit at the silkiness. He gently placed the necklace over her head. 

“You can open your eyes now.” 

She squealed when she saw the necklace, setting the box next to him on the beach before throwing her arms around his neck. 

“Thank you so much! I love it! Did you make this?” 

“Yes. Just for you.”

She touched it gently with her fingertips and smiled at him again. Her lips were tantalizingly close and he realized he could simply bend down and kiss her. Which was terribly inappropriate because he was both engaged and she was most likely-- definitely-- not interested.

“What’s in the box?” he asked abruptly, needing to change the mood. 

“Wha-- OH! Yes, you said you worked with old things and I think these are pretty old. So I brought them so you could look at them.” 

Belle handed him the box, the wood was warped, most likely from years spent in the sea. The latch was rusted and snapped when he opened the lid.

It was a complete tea set, white porcelain with a blue flower pattern. 

It matches Belle’s eyes, he thought and picked one up.

“They are in very good quality, probably from the late 1800’s or so. Not quite two hundred years old, and would fetch quite a nice sum.”

He handed a cup to Belle and she turned it over in her hands. “What is it?”

“A tea cup. You can use it to drink out of.” 

“Oh. They’re really pretty.” 

“Just like you.” The words slipped out.

Belle dropped the cup in surprise and stared at him with wide eyes.

He couldn’t move, couldn’t think, and stared at her in complete shock.

“It’s chipped.” She murmured picking up the cup, holding it out to him.

“It’s just a cup.” he murmured, wrapping his hands around hers.

She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. They were softer than he ever imagined, and a bit artless, but so sweet. She tasted like vanilla. He could spend the rest of his life like this, surrounded by Belle, her scent, her taste, her arms.

But as soon as it begun it was over. She quickly pulled away, her cheeks aflame. 

“I’m sorry. I know you’re courting someone, and I’m just silly. But I really like you, and you care about me and your so handsome, and-- and-- I want you.” she babbled, refusing to make eye contact.

“Belle, Belle, I want you to. I thought I was just being a fanciful old man, but you are beautiful and wonderful.” And I may well be in love with you, he added silently.

Belle pressed a quick kiss against his lips, and settled in between his a legs. He wrapped his arms around her torso. They watched the sunset. 

It was a moment he never wanted to end.

***  
Belle knew this had to happen, even if it was going to tear out her heart. She wouldn’t keep Rum away from his son.  
She’d been practicing for weeks to strengthen her natural magical ability, and she thought she had it down. Rum had been there almost two months, and it was time for him to go home. 

She surfaced in front of his little island and he smiled at her with unadulterated joy. Her smile was a it wobbly, and Rum immediately looked concerned.

“Is there something wrong?”he asked, concerned.

She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into a kiss, breathing air into his body. The air around them turned into a gold shimmer.

And then Belle pulled him underwater.

***  
Raymond Gold came to on a private beach in Hawaii, terrifying the homeowner. Through it all, the hospital trip, the police statements, reuniting with his son, he clasped a chipped cup.

When asked about it, he simply replied it was what kept him alive.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave comments, kudos, etc. I really appreciate it!  
> Have a lovely RSS!!


End file.
